End of the War!!!



external image Greek_Galleys.jpgThe end finally came in 405 when the Athinian fleet was almost completely destroyed by the Corinthians and Spartans. They lost 180 ships while Sparta's 200 were unharmed. Athens had a mere 12 ships left. Without the fleet, the strategy of Pericles failed. In 404, a Spartan army invaded Attica and Athens was forced to surrender. The terms of the peace were harsh. Sparta demanded the walls around Athens be destroyed. The citizens of Athens themselves were forced to tear down their own buildings. Their fleet was reduced to twelve ships, not enough to even protect their shipping. Sparta prohibitted them from ever having a navy and installed their own oligarchic government, known as the Thirty. The Athenian Empire was so thoroughly destoyed that it could never regain strength.

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